


ring it in.

by steamedmantou



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-26
Updated: 2013-03-26
Packaged: 2017-12-06 14:42:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/736836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steamedmantou/pseuds/steamedmantou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>kagami and himuro, pre-high school, in america, sharing a new year's eve tradition.</p>
            </blockquote>





	ring it in.

            It was after much cajoling and wheedling that Taiga and Tatsuya managed to secure a night free of supervision on New Year's Eve, though Tatsuya had done most of the talking, even to Taiga's parents, as Taiga fidgeted next to him.  As two boys straddling the line between childhood and adolescence they were tired of quiet evenings spent in front of the TV with their parents, listlessly watching network coverage of whichever exciting New Year’s ceremony caught their parents' attention first.  So, acting as earnest as if he were the world's sweetest honour student, Tatsuya succeeded in persuading both sets of their parents to agree to let the two of them go out alone that night.  "Okay," they'd said, "but no sneaking into parties.  You're both too young for that."

            To be honest, convincing them was easier than making a comeback in a basketball game, tied and going into overtime, but Tatsuya didn't say this to Taiga, knowing of his friend's honest-to-a-fault nature, who would stutter with self-imposed guilt from dressing up the truth, who would feel that it was inaccurate to say that they were completely responsible, and that they wouldn’t get into any sort of trouble on their own.

            They never intended on sneaking into any parties, the kind with adults getting drunk, but they went over to Alex's place anyway, just to see if they could.  She was hosting her own New Year's bash, where alcohol flowed with abandon.  They snuck in unnoticed, sniggering behind their hands with the nervousness of infraction, but it wasn't long before Alex noticed the two of them and hauled them from the fray by the backs of their shirts.  "No beer for you two!" she'd shouted, in the relative quiet of her front yard, rapping her knuckles on the tops of their heads.  But then she'd slipped them two fifties, one in each of their hands, winking, saying, "This is my New Year's gift to you two.  It's a Japanese tradition, right?  You go have fun!"

            Tatsuya was pretty sure the tradition of giving children New Year’s money was meant for New Year’s Day, but he did not protest.  They thanked her, holding their breath as she pulled them into a crushing bear hug, and went on their way.

            The city was different at night, different especially on New Year’s Eve, with the lights shining brighter than normal, streets alive with throngs of revellers hurrying to their next destination.  They ducked into a fast food joint and got take-out, Taiga buying his usual sack of burgers.  It was a good thing Alex had given them money, Tatsuya thought.

            They had planned on watching the fireworks along the harbour, but they certainly weren't the only ones to have that idea.  The strip along the waterfront was already packed: the pier and adjoining stretch of the beach was lined with people who had already claimed their spots.  So Tatsuya and Taiga walked along the shore, up a rocky climb at the end, onto a hill.  There, it was quiet, deserted, and far above everyone else.  Sitting down, they made quick work of their food, watching the milling of the crowds below them.

            They chattered to fill the time.  As it approached twelve, Tatsuya glanced at his watch, suddenly reminded of an interesting bit of trivia.  "Hey, Taiga, did you know that Americans kiss each other at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve?"

            "Eh?  Really?"

            Tatsuya hid a grin.  Taiga was already starting to blush.

            "Have you ever kissed anyone, Taiga?"

            "Why are you asking me that?"  Taiga snapped, lighting up red as a beacon.  "So, uh, um.  Why do they kiss on New Year’s Eve?"

            "Well, I heard that kissing someone would prevent you from being lonely in the New Year.  I also heard that it would strengthen your bonds to the person you were kissing.  There are a few different reasons…” Tatsuya said, "but hey, Taiga, don't change the subject.  _Have_ you ever kissed anyone?"

            "Stop asking—why d’you want to know!"

            Tatsuya smiled.  "Just curious."

            "Um,” Taiga said.  Tatsuya could see him deliberating on his response.  “No.  I haven't!"

            He’d thought as much.  "Do you want to try?"

            "What?"

            "Kissing at midnight."

            Tatsuya had just been teasing, and he hadn’t seriously intended on going through with it.  He'd expected Taiga to refuse with a fiery vehemence, and maybe even sulk the rest of the night, but to his surprise Taiga replied, all choked up, "Fine."

            In the distance they could hear the din of the countdown beginning.  " _Five_!" the crowd shouted.

            Tatsuya shuffled over.  "You sure about this?"

            " _Four_!"

            "Yeah just," Taiga said, tripping over his words.  "Just shut up, Tatsuya."

            " _Three_!"

            "Don't chicken out, okay?"  Tatsuya said, unsure if he was telling Taiga or himself.

            " _Two_!"

            They leaned towards each other—

            " _One_!"

            —and closed the distance.

            " _Happy New Years_!" came the roar.  At the back of his mind, Tatsuya was registering the noise, the cheering of the crowds and the boom of the fireworks.  Despite the volume it all felt a large distance away, isolated and far off from the immediacy of his present, the muted intakes of breath, the chapped surface of Taiga's lips, rough in texture but soft in every other way. 

            Their kiss was brief, close-mouthed and nearly robotic, but they both broke away short of breath.

            "See," Tatsuya said, as a way of maintaining composure, "that wasn't so bad now, was it?"  It had just occurred to him that the two of them had missed the beginning of the fireworks, and they watched them, now.

            "Yeah, whatever," Taiga said, refusing to make eye contact.

            Tatsuya stared over the water at the fireworks where they both watched in silence.  Tatsuya barely saw the explosions blossom, though, trapped inside his mind.  He wished that he hadn't kissed Taiga, because now, he wanted to do it again.

**Author's Note:**

> first completed/posted on tumblr: dec 31, 2012  
> first revised: march 26, 2013


End file.
